Bayonetta/Racing

About

Bayonetta racing is something I (flicky) have wanted to get going for a while now and with the interest arriving in early 2012, we have managed to finally start off. We have been racing individual boss routes so far but we will be looking to race entire runs when we have more time. If you wish to learn anything about the run, just find me on the metroid2002 irc under flicky.

The runs are fun and not too difficult to learn due to the main races being held on Normal mode. Races to chapter IV take less than an hour (around 40 minutes with some practice) and full game runs will take around 3 hours with a little practice and can be reduced to about 2 hours 30 when experienced. There are a lot of different races available in Bayonetta so you can find a lot of ways to keep racing fresh.

Categories

There are a lot possibilities for races in Bayonetta. Here you'll find examples of differenct goals and variables for the game. If you have a suggestion, let me know.

Variables

These variables can be changed for a different run.

• Difficulty - (standard is Normal)
• New Game, or New Game+. New Game+ will be with everything.
• Limited Weapons - Can only use the weapons listed. Handgun Only is an example of this (only use the handguns)
• Limited Techniques - Can only use techniques allowed.
• Character - Unless stated otherwise, use Bayonetta.
• No Flute Glitch - There is an unwritten rule to not use the infinite Magic Flute Glitch. Assume all races are in this category unless stated otherwise.

Goals

• Specific Chapters - Complete specific parts of the game. The race starts from a new game unless the goal states otherwise.(Example: Chapter IV Complete)
• Any % - Complete the whole game from a new game file.
• Low % - Can't buy skills, can't get new weapons (Scarborough Fair only)
• All Verses - Complete every alfheim and hidden verse.
• Lost Chapter - All races that take place in the the lost chapter.
• Pure Platinum (PP) - Aim to get a Pure Platinum on a chapter.

Techniques

Movement and fighting techniques.

Skips

We will put videos of the skips you can use in bayonetta here and guides of how to execute them. You can find some speed tricks here as well as early footage of some of the skips. While some of the skips are outdated, the video is still worth watching. It features the Chapter 5 and Chapter 9 skips which are important for a run.

Chapter 2 Bridge Skip (no video). At the witch-time bride after fighting the two affinities, you can skip over the bridge using either panther form, stiletto or air dodge. To air dodge skip, you need to do the following: Jump, Air Dodge, Double Jump, Air Dodge, Air Dodge. Attempting to double jump first won't get you far enough.

Chapter 3 Mario Galaxy Skip (no video) - At the lava wave section on the buildings, after the witch puzzle to get through the lava spurt, cross over to the second building. Run to the end of the build then double jump and do 3 Air Dodges. This will activate the cutscene and fling you to the tower where you can jump around onto the side. Panther also works. Credit to vardinator for the original panther technique, credit to flicky for no-panther technique

(Pantherless) Bridge/Hourglass/Paradise Skip - Video by Doji. You can do this slightly faster by using the sword and do two Afterburner Kicks and then two Stilettos to get across. This method is slightly less consistant.

Chapter 4 Fortitudo Skip - After tearing off the first head in the Fortitudo fight, Exit to Title Screen then continue. This will reset the arena and remove a significant amount of Fortitudo's health. credit to flicky

Chapter 5 Serpent Skip (no video) - After climbing the tower and going outside onto the serpent path, face the small waterfall. You can get up the wall here to land on the water platform above by using three Afterburner Kicks (two from jumps, one from a wall jump). You may need to dodge over the lower section of the wall to get up. Credit to n472a

Chapter 6 The flicky skip (Verse 2 Skip) - Video by FakeMasterPT. Expect a commentated video soon.

Chapter 9 Golem Chase Skip - By jumping high enough (usually with Afterburner Kick), you can jump over the invisible wall preventing you from falling and drop down to the lowest of the pathways. This takes some practice as this is an instant death fall (which the game likes to kill you with) and the execution can be strange.

Routes

For now, check http://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Bayonetta for an idea of a full normal route.

VoD from a race with FakeMasterPT. This is the most up to date VoD for a full run of Bayonetta (as of 23rd January 2012). It is a good run in general and while some of the levels are sloppy, the strategies are all viewable.

Rules

If no variables are stated then the standard is the following:

• Character - Bayonetta
• New Game
• Difficulty - Normal
• No Flute Glitch
• No Phone Cheats

Generally flute usage is limited or agreed against in racing. With flutes would likely be considered a different category.

If you are racing from a chapter mid way through the game you may use a save that is completed up to this point. If you have no save up to this point, you can see if you the people you are racing are ok with you using a different file.

Using a pre-completed file

If you are using a pre-completed file for racing, the rules are as follows:

• All racers must be aware that you are using the file and are ok with it.
• You cannot use a file with any additional magic or health.
• You must only use weapons that you would have during a speed run by that point.
• You must turn off any techniques you would not have until you can get them.
• If an item you need requires LP pieces, you must break all chests that would contain the piece.
• If during a normal run you would enter The Gates of Hell, you must enter the shop before you can equip weapons/moves.
• If you are found to be breaking any of these rules, any other racers have the right to get you DQ'd.
• Be honest, no one likes a cheater.

Timing

For games starting as a new game, timing starts at difficulty selection. For games starting part way through, timing starts when the player starts the chapter via the "Start" option on the chapter screen.

Timing stops when the last cutscene of the chapter is skipped. For a full game run or a run that ends at the Epilogue, timing stops when the final Verse, during the credits, is finished and the snapshop animation starts.

Version Difference

There are real time differences between versions and very minimal ingame time difference so those playing on a PS3 will require some kind of offset in their favour. It is quite difficult for us to figure out these differences so it will take some time before we have accurate figures. We will be timing load times and so on and create a set figure as a difference. It seems it will be about 10 minutes for a full run but this is a preliminary guess.

New Game+ Runs

Players are allowed access to whatever weapons, accessories, techniques and items they own. You can join in if you don't own everything but be aware that you might be at a disadvantage. Look up the phone cheats and halo farming if you wish to unlock everything quickly.

Resources

• A full route for Normal mode (may not be up to date)
• flicky's stream (LQ)
• flicky's YouTube
• FakeMasterPT's YouTube
• Dojimadan's YouTube
• Bayonetta Page on SRL
• Bayonetta thread on SDA
• Join #bayonetta on irc.metroid2002.com! I am around between 1pm and 3am GMT.